- INTELLIGENT RESISTANCE -
Free. Fair. Fearless. Intelligentsiya is made up of Fiji Islanders who are libertarians in their own way and who cherish the free flow of news, ideas and information and will peacefully resist any attempts by the country's military rulers to stifle free speech. intelligentsiya will also bear witness, report and discuss human rights abuses by the authorities.

October 16, 2012

Fijian PM’s family make submission to Constitution

SUVA, Oct. 15 — The siblings of Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama have made their submission to the new Constitution as public consultations came to close on Monday.

The prime minister’s siblings RubyAnn Sorovaki, Litiana Loabuka, Frances Lutunatabua, Ateca Whippy, Bernadette Bainimarama and Ratu Meli Bainimarama made the submission as a family, calling for the one man one vote system in the new constitution, according to local website Fijivillage.

According to Fijivillage, while making their submission to the Constitution Commission, the family asked for an anti- discrimination act to be in place and the removal of the electoral system from the constitution to allow for changes from time to time in line with the changing needs and the will of the people.The Bainimarama siblings also said there should be an end to the coup culture, behavior and mentality.

The Constitution Commission held their final round of hearings on Monday. Commission Chair Professor Yash Ghai admitted that they had been working quite hard to meet the deadline.

Earlier in August, Bainimarama lashed out at Ghai for secretly meeting with members of some anti-government parties and groups and former politicians in Fiji, while Ghai said certain laws should be reviewed if they were not conducive to a free environment where people could express their views openly, and any restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and media freedom should be removed from Fiji.In respose to some Fijians, especially leaders of some opposition parties who continue to make submissions against the non-negotiable principles in the Constitution that the government has set up, Bainimarama reiterated that there were no restrictions on people making constitution submissions, but “some people are trying to take over the process.”